Systems and methods for communicating using voice messages

ABSTRACT

A communication system comprises a communication device configured to receive a data message, such as a text message, and to generate and send a voice reply to the data message using a simple transmit action. The data message comprises an identifier that can be used to determine a reply path related to the data message. Thus, when a user receives the data message, they can read the message initiate the simple transmit action, and reply to the data message by speaking an appropriate reply into the communication device. The spoken response is stored as a voice message and attached to a data message that is sent using the reply path identified by the identifier.

RELATED APPLICATION INFORMATION

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 as a continuationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/659,936 filed on Sep. 10, 2003,entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR COMMUNICATING USING VOICE MESSAGES”,which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 as a continuation-in-part ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/174,655 filed Jun. 19, 2002,entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ORIGINATING, STORING, PROCESSING ANDDELIVERING MESSAGE DATA,” which claims priority as acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/859,245filed May 16, 2001, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CREATING A DIGITALPROJECT LOG,” which claims priority as a continuation-in-part of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/713,487 filed Nov. 15, 2000, entitled“SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROJECT LOG STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL,” each of whichis incorporated herein by reference in their entirety as if set fourthin full.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

This invention relates broadly to the field of communications, and moreparticularly to a communication system and method for originating,storing, and delivering data.

2. Background Information

Communication systems are used in a wide variety of data storage andretrieval applications. Some of these applications include data logsystems, wireless dictation, voice mail and messaging systems, andnetwork storage applications. Communication systems employing networkedcommunication devices have largely supplanted traditional hardcopy filesystems and note-taking techniques. The shortcomings of these and othertraditional techniques are well known: they are tedious, difficult toorganize and comprehend, easily misplaced, and hard to secure.

However, some conventional communication systems have their ownlimitations. One example is the use of a recording device to memorializean observation or event. The recording device may be a tape recorder ora video recorder, where the recording preserves a monitoring person'sobservations on a recording medium such as a cassette tape,microcassette, or videocassette. The recording medium can be lost orotherwise inaccessible. If it is accessible, it is usually accessible toonly one user or otherwise limited to a small number of persons who musteach maintain a copy. The copies are also difficult to reproduce anddistribute effectively. Further, recordings are difficult to compile ina way that the recording media can be arranged in some logical, easilyretrievable order.

Additional problems exist with conventional data storage or recordingmechanisms for keeping records. One additional problem relates tocontrol of the data. A voice mail system, for example, stores messagesfrom a sender, but the sender relinquishes complete control of themessages to either a recipient or a third party over whom the sender hasno control. Without adequate controls, data integrity and security canbe lost.

Another additional problem is complexity. Again, using voice mail as anexample, the sender must first dial a long telephone number, and thenusually has to navigate to a storage location by keying in many morenumbers or access codes. Each keystroke requires time and concentration,and as such diminishes the likelihood of successfully reaching adestination.

One further problem with conventional communication systems is the lackof ease with which data can be delivered once it has been received andstored. There are many techniques and platforms for communicating data;however, conventional techniques and platforms lack end-to-end securitywhile still allowing automated delivery. Further, most systems arenon-scalable, and cannot support a large number of users and/orrecipients.

Limitations related to data storage and retrieval are not the onlyproblems associated with conventional communication systems. Forexample, while conventional communication systems provide a plurality ofmethods for mobile users to stay connected, e.g., with work, home,clients, etc., these mechanisms can often be tedious, difficult andinefficient, which limits their usefulness. Often, a mobile user mustattempt to “punch” in short messages on a small keyboard attached totheir mobile communication device, or wade through hierarchical menus togenerate or leave a message or contact a specific individual.

Because existing methods are so limiting, effective communication isdifficult. Often messages sent leave out important information or areconfusing. But even worse, existing methods are often not takenadvantage of because of the difficulty in using them efficiently.Accordingly, mobile users are not effectively connected, which canreduce efficiency.

SUMMARY

A communication system comprises a communication device configured toreceive a data message, such as a text message, and to generate and senda voice reply to the data message using a simple transmit action. Thedata message comprises an identifier that can be used to determine areply path related to the data message. Thus, when a user receives thedata message, they can read the message and initiate the simple transmitaction, and reply to the data message by speaking an appropriate replyinto the communication device. The spoken reply is stored as a voicemessage and attached to a data message that is sent using the reply pathidentified by the identifier.

According to one aspect, the communication device is configured toreceive the spoken reply and store it as a voice message. Thecommunication device can be configured to then generate a voice reply byattaching the stored voice message to a data message and then send thevoice reply via the return path determined based on the identifier.

According to another aspect, the spoken reply can be transmitted to amessage authority that can be configured to generate the voice reply bystoring the voice reply as a voice message and attaching the storedvoice message to a data message to generate a voice reply. The voicereply can then be sent via the return path determined based on theidentifier.

These and other features, aspects, and embodiments of the inventions aredescribed below in the section entitled “Detailed Description of thePreferred Embodiments.”

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and embodiments of the inventions are described inconjunction with the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a communication system accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows a system for forming a project log, according to anembodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates another embodiment of a system for forming a projectlog.

FIG. 4 shows yet another alternative embodiment of a system for forminga project log.

FIG. 5 shows yet another alternative embodiment of a system for forminga project log.

FIG. 6 illustrates one method of forming a project log according to theinvention.

FIG. 7 shows one example of a transmission and/or receive deviceaccording to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 shows a communication system according to another embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a method of originating, storing, processingand delivering message data.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an expanded method of storing and processingmessage data.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of an expanded method of delivering message datato an intended recipient.

FIG. 12 is a display including an integrated media player and text inputwindow.

FIG. 13 illustrates a display and user interface including a mediaplayer and text input window according to an embodiment.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example communication system according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for forwarding adata message to a communication device in accordance with oneembodiment.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment for replyingto a data message with a voice reply in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for generating avoice reply using a message authority in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example method for retrieving avoice message in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 19 illustrates another example communication system in accordancewith one embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for communicatingvoice messages between communication devices.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example embodiment for directlypopulating a voice message in box with a voice message using a transmitaction in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating another example embodiment fordirectly populating a voice message in box with a voice message using atransmit action in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This invention provides a communication system and method fororiginating, processing storing and delivering data. In one embodiment,a user selects a recipient, presses a button, and speaks into thetransmission device. When the user is done speaking, he releases thebutton. With no further action on the part of the sender, the message istransmitted to a server system. The server system stores the message asa digital file, determines the destination address of the intendedrecipient by reference to information previously stored in the serversystem, and sends the recipient a notification that enables therecipient to instantly retrieve a copy of the message. In anotherembodiment, the server sends a copy of the message directly to therecipient as an e-mail attachment.

In another exemplary embodiment, voice data is captured in real time bya transmission device such as the Nextel Direct Connect® cell phone. Thevoice data is transmitted as a voice message to a server system. Theserver system converts the voice message to a digital file, and time-and date-stamps the digital file. The digital file and associatedinformation is then stored in a central database, and organizedaccording to any user-specified organization scheme. One scheme could bea project log of files relating to observations about a project. Anotherscheme could be a billing and timekeeping system having comment andnarrative files. Still yet another scheme includes one or more lists,such as to-do lists, punch lists, or patient records. The scheme couldalso include an organization of meeting minute files.

The digital file can then be accessed and delivered via the Internet.The contents of the digital file can also be e-mailed, electronicallyfaxed, or played and transmitted over other voice or data networks. Theserver system automatically delivers a copy of the digital file to arecipient in several ways. The server system can send an e-mailnotifying the recipient of the digital file with a link to a locationfrom which the digital file may be accessed. Alternatively, the copy ofthe digital file can be attached to an e-mail sent to the recipient.

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram exemplifying a communication system100 for originating, storing, managing, and delivering various forms ofdata. The communication system 100 includes at least one transmissiondevice 2 communicating data with a collector/server 4 over a network 8for subsequent access by a recipient 12. The recipient 12 can be asender of the data, or one or more third parties identified by thesender. In one embodiment, the network 8 includes at least one wirelesslink 6, shown in FIG. 1 as between the transmission device 2 and “thenetwork 8, but which may also be between network 8 and thecollector/server 4. According to the embodiment, the wireless link 6 canbe a part of a cellular or wireless network operating according to anyvoice and/or data communication standard. The network can include anyvariety of transmission media including, without limitation, fiber opticcable, twisted-pair wire, and coaxial cable. In another embodiment, thetransmission device 2 is connected to the network 8 by a wired link (notshown).

The transmission device 2 includes any type of device capable oftransmitting data, which includes voice or other audio content, text orother symbols, images or other graphics, and video content, or anycombination thereof. Data includes messages as well as metadata appendedto or transmitted separately from messages. A message is a collection ofdata formatted to anyone of a variety of message formats. Metadataincludes identifiers (IDs), headers, addresses, footers, or otheradditional information related to the message or its transmission. Inone embodiment, the transmission device 2 transmits messages formattedin the device's native protocol, such as the transmission controlprotocol (TCP) of the Internet protocol (IP) suite for Internet-enabledtransmission devices.

Data is preferably transmitted as digital data, but can also be analogdata converted to digital data at or before the collector/server 4. Thetransmission device 2 thus can be a telephone, personal digitalassistant (PDA) or hybrid thereof, a computer (portable or desktop),one-way or two-way radio device, such as a pager, or any other knowndata transmission device. The transmission device 2 further may beintegrated with other devices, such as a camera, camcorder, microphone,or voice recorder, for example. The transmission device 2 is preferablyoperated locally by a sender of the data, but it should be understoodthat the transmission device may be controlled remotely through atransmission device user interface. Although described as a device whichsends data, the transmission device 102 may also receive data.

In one embodiment, the network 8 represents the Internet, to include anynumber of wired and wireless communication networks compliant withInternet-related protocols and standards. The network 8 may alsorepresent a wide area network (WAN), local area network (LAN), orpersonal area network (PAN) connecting the transmission device 2 withthe collector/server 4. The network 8 may even include a satellitecommunication network.

The collector/server 4 receives data, and maps metadata included withthe data to one or more look-up tables to determine other informationabout the received data. The collector/server 4 then stores the dataalong with selected information related to the data. Thecollector/server 4 provides the recipient 12 access to the data based atleast in part on reference to the selected related information storedwith the data. The selected related information can include, in anycombination, reference indicia such as the time, date, or duration oftransmission or reception of the data, a project ID, an accountidentifier or identification (ID), intended recipient ID(s), sender IDand transmission device ID, data type, and storage entry ID, to name buta few examples. The collector/server 4 then serves a copy of theaccessed data to the recipient via the network 8. The recipient 12receives the copy of the accessed data using any device capable ofcommunicating with the network 8 to receive the data, such as acomputer, phone, PDA, etc.

FIG. 2 shows one specific embodiment of a communication system 200according to the invention. In this embodiment, a transmission device102 communicates with a collector/server 105 via a receive device 104connected to a wireless network 103. The transmission device 102 can bea two-way cellular radio, such as a Direct Connect™ radio sold by NextelInc., or an IDEN™ phone sold by Motorola Inc. In the specificembodiment, the transmission device 102 uses the radio frequencyspectrum to establish a direct radio link over the wireless network 103to the receiving device 104, which can also be a two-way cellular radio.

The collector/server 105 includes a computer 101 that employs acommunication interface 112. The communication interface 112 includes aserial port 114 and a sound card 115. The serial port 114 is connectedto a data cable 111 to form a control channel for transmitting controlsignals and instructions between the receiving device 104 and thecomputer 101. The sound card 115 is connected to an adapter 109 to forma data channel, which is configured to receive data from the receivingdevice 104. A Y-cable 107 is used to connect both the control and datachannels to the receiving device 104.

Alternatively, the receiver can comprise an “electronic gateway”interfaced, for example, with a wireless network 103. The electronicgateway can be configured to receive communications form thetransmission device 102, via wireless network 103, and route themdirectly to one or more computers 101, e.g., via an IP network interface(not shown).

The transmission device 102 transmits data to the receive device 104 ofthe collector/server 105, which receives the data and passes it to thecomputer 101 via the data communication interface 112, as describedabove. A processor 120 in the computer 101 processes the data and parsesfrom it metadata, i.e., information related to the data, such as anintended recipient or group of recipients, priority of the data, or afile address to which the data is stored. The processor 120 also formatsthe received data as a digital file, which preferably has a format thatcan be compressed and stored. In a particular embodiment, the processor120 is a central processing unit (CPU) of the computer 101. In analternative embodiment, the processor 120 includes a digital signalprocessor (DSP). The processor 120 may also be a distributed processingplatform, distributed among two or more computers 101.

The data is stored in a storage 135. The metadata is also stored astables in one or more records in a database 130. Data may also bearchived in an archive 140 for long-term storage and retrieval of thedigital files and/or associated database records. Those having skill inthe art would recognize that functions of the storage 135, database 130,and archive 140 may be performed either by a single storage system or adistributed storage system. Such as storage system can include any typeor number of storage media. The data stored in the storage 135 may beaccessed via a network such as electronic mail and/or the Internet (notshown). In a particular embodiment, the storage 135 contents arepersistent, secure, and copy-protected, so as to ensure their validity.Accordingly, once stored, the data is difficult or impossible tomanipulate or otherwise change by a third party, who mayor may not haveaccess to a copy of the data.

FIG. 3 illustrates a communication system 300 for originating andcollecting data according to an alternative embodiment of the invention.In the communication system 300, the data communication interface 112 tothe computer 101 includes a modem 116 configured to communicate with atelephone system used as the receiving device 104. The telephone systemcan be a conventional plain-old telephone system (POTS) through whichtelephone signals are communicated via standard twisted-pair wire cable.In this embodiment, the transmitting device 102 can be either a wiredtelephone communicating over the POTS network, or a wireless telephonecommunicating with the POTS network through a wireless network 103.

FIG. 4 shows yet another alternative embodiment of a communicationsystem 400, which includes a computer 101 having a data communicationinterface 112 as substantially described above. The data communicationinterface 112 includes a network card 117 configured for communicationwith a data network, such as the Internet, a portion or node of which isused as the receiving device 104. The transmission device 102communicates data as a form of Internet Protocol-compliant messages tothe receiving device via cellular network 103.

FIG. 5 shows yet another communication system 500 for originating andcollecting data. The communication system 500 employs a datacommunication interface 112, which includes a network card 118 forcommunication with the network. At least a portion of the network actsas the receiving device 104. Suitable transmission devices 102 for theembodiment shown in the system 500 include a personal computer (PC), awireless computer, such as a portable PC having wireless capabilities ora handheld personal digital assistant (PDA), connected to the receivingdevice 104 via a cellular network 103.

FIG. 6 illustrates one method 600 of originating, storing and deliveringdata. Method 600 begins at process block 605, in which global variablesare initialized within software. The software commands the processorusing the variables and controls the forming of a project log. Theprocess block 605 further activates a process for receiving data.According to one method of the invention, at process block 610 aplurality of multimedia control objects (MMControl) are loaded, whichset up a computer for communication with the transmission device throughthe receive device. Process block 610 is used to initialize an audio orvideo recording device through MMControl. In one specific embodiment, atprocess block 610 a bank of cellular telephones, having a two-way radiocapability and acting as transmission and/or receive devices, areinitialized and connected to enable direct messaging to the computer.

At process block 615 in the method 600, a wait period is executed towait for data being transmitted and received. At process block 620, anauthorization request is received as incoming data. In an embodiment,the authorization request includes a member identification number fromone member of a group of mobile phone users. The identification numberis looked up in a table that is part of a database of numbers. If theuser is authorized to access the project log, then an authorization isgiven at process block 625. The identification number, along with thedate and time of receipt of the authorization, is used to create a newrecord, including a filename, for the newly created record. In oneembodiment, the filename will be appended to the data, and stored as areference indication in the database.

Upon authorization, the communication link from the computer 101 to therelevant transmitting device 102 is in a state for carrying data. Atprocess block 630, data representing an observation is received. Asstated above, the data may be in any form, including digital or analogformat. Examples of suitable analog data includes voice signals from atwo-way radio, cellular phone, or conventional telephone. Digital dataincludes digital signals sent from a digital phone or a computer.According to one specific example, an observer speaks into a cellularradio that acts as a transmission device. The voice signals aretransmitted to a second cellular radio that acts as a receive device.

The data is received until process block 635, when the transmission ofdata is stopped, and the receipt of data is accomplished. At block 635,the step of processing the received data is accomplished. For example,the voice signals from the receive device are received as an audiostream by a computer and processed into a sound clip, or other digitalfile. At block 635, all properties of the system are set in order tostop receiving and recording incoming data. The received data is set forbeing appended with metadata, and a duration of time in which the datawas received is calculated.

At process block 640, various database routines are called to open theauthorized database records and insert the data in a new or existingrecord. Metadata is also inserted. The record is then appended withreference indicia, which may include, but is not limited to, duration,sender identification, date, time, and filename. At step 645, a decisionis made whether to execute an instruction to continue the process, or toend the method. If the process continues, the method returns to processblock 615 to wait for more data. If no more data is to be received, anunload step is executed at process block 650 to deactivate incomingcommunication links and switch all communication devices to an inactivestate.

Referring back to the general system shown in FIG. 1, and with referenceto FIG. 7, there is shown a specific device 700 suitable for use aseither a transmission device 2 or receive device 4. In one embodiment,the device 700 is a two-way hand-held communications device thatoperates in the short-wave frequency band, such as a walkie-talkie.Although the distance between a transmission device 2 and receive device4 is limited with a walkie-talkie short-wave radio device, such devices700 can be employed in scenarios where interference and powerconsumption are considerations. For instance, such a device 700 issuitable for in-room hospital use, where cell phone use is disallowed.

The device 700 may further include a memory for storing a call-list anda screen 702 for displaying the call list. A user can select a number ofthe sender, a number for the recipient, and a project identificationnumber, all of which can be useful to map a certain transmission with aproject. The memory can also be used to store a log of outgoingtransmissions or incoming receptions, depending on whether the device700 is used as a transmitter or a receiver. Accordingly, the device 700can communicate data from a sensitive geographical area, such as withina hospital room, to another geographical area in which a storageresides.

The device 700 may further include logic for scanning the availablefrequencies for a channel over which data may most effectively betransmitted. In a specific embodiment, the device 700 also includeslogic and a processor for encrypting signals being transmitted ordecrypting signals being received. For selected signals beingtransmitted, the device 700 automatically inserts metadata into thetransmission stream. The metadata includes reference indicia whichidentifies the date and time the transmission is executed and/or thesignals are received.

Those skilled in the art would recognize that each embodiment of thecommunication system discussed above may be combined with other likeembodiments or different embodiments. For example, the systems shown inFIGS. 1-4 may be implemented with a bank of parallel data communicationinterfaces 112 configured for connection to a plurality of transmissiondevices 102.

In another embodiment, a transmission device used by an observer of anevent includes a memory for caching data representing the observation.The data is cached until a suitable connection is made available to areceiving device or directly to the computer system. The caching caninclude appending with reference indicia for storage in the local memoryof the transmission device, or logic that appends the reference indiciawhen the cache is emptied and the data is transmitted to its ultimatedestination for inclusion in the project log.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a communication system 200 is shown accordingto another embodiment of the invention. The system 200 includes a sender202, a transmission device 210, a server system 208, and a recipient240.

The sender 202 represents any person or entity that communicates amessage—intended for a message recipient—to the transmission device 210.The sender's message is communicated to the transmission device 210 inone or more of many ways using a transmit action. The transmit actioncan include a single transmit action, such as pressing a button andspeaking (i.e., “press-to-talk”), taking a photo or video, or touching apad with a stylus. The transmit action also includes entering text,selecting choices from menus, etc. The message recipient can be aperson, group of persons, a storage location on the server system, orboth a storage location and a person or persons.

The transmission device 210 transmits the sender's 202 message via acommunications network 207 to a particular, unique address of a filestorage 232, which is one of a plurality of unique addresses associatedwith the server system 208. The communication network 207 may include atleast one wireless link. The message is transmitted along with metadata,including at least a unique ID of the transmission device 210.Additional metadata sent with the message can include data representingthe length, urgency, time of transmission, etc. of the original message.The unique addresses associated with the server system 208 need not bedirectly associated ‘with an address or identity of any intendedrecipient 240, except by reference to related metadata stored in adatabase 234 in the server system 208.

The transmission device 210 can be a standard telephone, cell phone,Nextel phone with iDEN capability, radio or satellite phone, or wirelessPDA or programmable phone device running special software, or othercommunication device. The unique address can be a POTS phone number, aniDEN private ID number, an IP address, a Uniform Resource Locator (URL)address, or other unique address that can be sent by the transmissiondevice 210 and recognized by the server system 208.

In one embodiment, the server system 208 includes a collector 220, adata center 230, and a server 240. The collector 220 has one or morereceivers 222, each of which has a unique address that is addressable bythe transmission device 210. The receiver 222 receives the message andassociated metadata, preferably in the format native to the particulartype of transmission device 210 used. The collector 220 also includes aprocessor 224 which reformats the received message and associatedmetadata into a format meaningful to the memory structures in datacenter 230, which include the file storage 232 and the database 234, androutes the message metadata to the data center 230 over data centernetwork 211. The data center network 211 can include a WAN, LAN, PAN,bus, or any other connection media or communications platform.

In an alternative embodiment, collector 220 can actually be interfacedwith an electronic, or router, which can be capable of receiving androuting multiple unique addresses. Thus, the collector 220 can comprisean interfaced, such as an IP interfaced configured to interfacecollector 220 with such an electronic gateway. In such an embodiment,collector 220 can still comprise a receiver portion configured toreceive messages and associated metadata routed from the electronicgateway, although not necessarily in the format native to the particulartype of transmission device 210 used. The collector 220 can still alsoincludes a processor 224 which reformats the received messages andassociated metadata into a format meaningful to the memory structures indata center 230, and route the message metadata to the data center 230over data center network 211.

The database 234 accepts the message metadata from the collector 220 andparses the received data into its components, including the content ofthe sender's message, and the unique transmission device identifier.

The server system 208 also includes the server 240, which has a webserver 242 and a mail server 244. While functionally distinct, the webserver 242 and mail server 244 may be a single server. Further, eachserver may be embodied as a servlet program resident on a host serverplatform. The server 240 is connected with the data center via servernetwork 212, which like the data center network 211 can also include aWAN, LAN, PAN, bus or any other communications platform. Thus, theserver 240 can include a farm of servers distributed among separateserver devices or spread geographically via connections to the servernetwork 212.

The server 240 receives requests from either the recipient 240 or thesender 202, and responds to requests either through the web server 242or mail server 244. The mail server 244 transmits electronicnotifications, via e-mail, to a requester or recipient of a message. Thenotification can include a hypertext link to the web server 242. The webserver 242 receives a copy of a requested message from the data center230, and serves up the copy in a web page to the requester or therecipient. The web page can be formatted according to a markup language,such as extensible markup language (XML) or hypertext markup language(HTML), and downloaded through the second communications network 208 viaany transport technique to a browser or other rendering program.

The sender 202 also includes a user interface 212 for accessing andretrieving data from the server 240 of the server system 208 via thesecond communications network 208. The communications networks 207 and208 may be one in the same, or completely different networks. The userinterface 212 can be a computer, a phone, a PDA, or any other devicecapable of receiving data. In one embodiment, the user interface 212includes a computer and a display, and the requested information isdisplayed as an HTML or XML page in a web browser program rendered onthe display. Although represented in FIG. 8 as part of one sender block202, it should be understood that the transmission device 210 and userinterface 212 may be the same device, different devices, or evenremotely positioned and/or operated by different persons.

The recipient 240 is a person or entity to which a sender's message isultimately intended. FIG. 8 shows more than one recipient 240, but itshould be understood that there can be any number of recipients 240. Therecipient 240 includes an e-mail client 242 for receiving thenotifications from the mail server 244, and a web browser 244, or othersimilar program, for receiving and rendering the messages from the webserver 242. Messages may also be received from the mail server 244.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a method 900 of originating, processing,storing, and delivering data according to an embodiment. A message istransmitted from a transmission device (block 902), and received by areceive device (block 904). The transmission device has a uniqueidentifier, while the receive device is associated with an address towhich the message is transmitted. The message is transmitted in a formatnative to the transmission device, and reformatted to a proprietary orstandard format compatible with a database within the server system(block 906). The reformatted message includes at least the originalmessage, the unique identifier of the transmission device, and theunique identifier of the address associated with the server system towhich the message was addressed.

The reformatted message may be formatted in accordance with a markuplanguage.

When the message is received, an acknowledgement (ACK) signal is sentback to the transmission device (block 908). The ACK signal can be asignal which causes the transmission device to emit an audible signal,or a signal which causes the transmission device to display a visualsignal. At block 910, the received message and related metadata isprocessed for storage, after which the message contents and relatedmetadata may be accessed and delivered to a recipient (block 912).

FIG. 10 illustrates a method 910 of processing and storing a messageaccording to an embodiment. The sender's identity is determined (block1002) by reference to information previously stored in the database,where each unique transmission device identifier is associated with aunique sender identifier. Alternatively, the transmission deviceidentifier serves as a proxy for the sender identifier. The recipient'saddress of the ultimate recipient is also determined (block 1004) byreference to information previously stored in the database, in which aunique combination of the sender (or transmission device) identifier andthe receive address associated with the server system is associated witha unique recipient identifier of the ultimate recipient, and byreference to a network address of the ultimate recipient.

The message is parsed into its components, including content of themessage and related metadata (block 1006). A file having the contents ofthe original message is stored in a storage associated with the serversystem (block 1008). Appropriate entries are made to a record in thedatabase (block 1010) to enable the stored message to be located,retrieved and presented to authorized recipients upon request.

FIG. 11 illustrates a method 912 of delivering a message according to anembodiment. Once the message is received at the server system, anelectronic notification is generated (block 1102) and sent to one ormore designated and/or authorized recipients (block 1104). Thenotification is sent to a network address associated with eachrecipient. One type of notification includes an e-mail message deliveredby an e-mail server. The e-mail message can include a link to theoriginal message stored in the server system, or include a copy of theoriginal message as an attachment. Another type of notification can be avoice or text message delivered to a phone or other communication deviceof the recipient.

When a link is employed, the link can include a hyperlink to allowaccess to the original message stored at the server system. In responseto user selection of the link, a web page is generated (block 1108) anda copy of the original message is retrieved from storage (block 1110).The link can include embedded information allowing only the actualintended recipient of the link to access an active server page thatwould serve up the specific message to the browser on the computingdevice from which the link was activated. The embedded information canhave a time stamp designating a certain time interval after whichauthorization to access the message expires. The embedded informationcan be included in a query string appended to a CURL) which identifiesthe location in the server system of the message to be accessed. Theembedded information can also be encrypted.

A copy of the accessed message is delivered from the server system to anaddress associated with the recipient (block 1112). In one embodiment,the message is transmitted in a web page. FIG. 12 shows one embodimentof a web page 1202. The web page can be an active server page. The webpage can include a media player 1204 to render the message to therecipient in whichever media format the original message exists. Themedia player 1204 can be locally stored on the recipient's computingdevice, or downloaded along with the message and used with therecipient's web browser. In one example, the original message is anaudio file, and the media player plays a digital copy of the audio forthe recipient to hear. The media player 1204 includes a graphicaldisplay 1210 for displaying status information or a rendering of themessage, and a variety of user controls 1208 with which a user cancontrol the playing of a message.

The web page can also include metadata associated with the message. Themetadata includes time stamp information, and can include the time eachmessage was accessed by each recipient, or which recipients havereceived and accessed messages. The metadata can be displayed in themedia player graphical display 1210, or in a separate window. Themetadata can also include additional information, such as a texttranscription of the original message, the origination of which isdescribed in greater detail below. According to one particularembodiment, the web page is accessible only to the sender of a message,enabling the sender to access previously transmitted messages andadditional information associated with the messages.

The web page may also include a text input window 1206, which can bedisplayed separately from or combined with the media player 1204. Thetext input window includes a text box 1212 for receiving text from auser input device such as a keyboard, keypad, touchpad, or voice inputdevice used with a voice-to-text conversion program. Other user inputdevices can also be used. The text includes a transcription of themessage, a reply associated with the message or the sender, or acomment.

The text input window 1206 further includes a transmit control 1214,such as a graphical tab or button for example, which can be used fortransmitting the text to one or more addresses. In one embodiment, thetext is transmitted back to the server system for storage with themessage. In the embodiment, the text is tagged with pointers to themessage so that the text is accessible when the message is accessed.Alternatively, the text is appended to the message and stored in thesame memory.

In another embodiment, the text is sent to the sender, with or withoutbeing stored at the server system. The message or its notification tothe recipient can include an address for the sender, such as thesender's transmission device or other terminal device able to receiveand render the text. The text input window transmit control 1214 causesa program to reformat the text to a transmission format which iscompatible for each text recipient.

FIG. 13 illustrates a series of look-up tables for automatic processingof messages. As described above, a system according to an embodiment candetermine additional information about a message based on severalparameters included with metadata received with the message. In anexample shown in FIG. 13, a device ID and a sender ID are received alongwith a message. The device ID is preferably an identifier of a receiverconnected with the server system, but can also be an interface addressassociated with the collector of the server system, or any otherinterface to the transmission device which sent the message. The senderID is preferably either the unique device identifier of the transmissiondevice, or an identifier associated with the sender or user of thedevice.

The device ID and sender ID are provided to look-up tables, representedby a DEVICE table 502 and a USER table 510, respectively, to resolveadditional other information related to the message. The device ID iscombined with the sender ID (i.e., “UserID”) in another table,represented as a ProjectTeamMembers table 504, to determine a projectidentifier (ProjectID) of a project associated with the sender and themessage. The project identifier can then be used to access a PROJECTtable 506 which can include, for example, an address of an intendedrecipient to which a notification is to be sent. The project identifiercan also be used to determine which entry should be accessed (EntryIDfrom the ENTRIES folder 508) for storing the message and/or metadata asan entry in the database. An ACCOUNT folder 512 may also be accessedwith reference to an AccountID determined from the PROJECT folder 506.

While the tables in FIG. 13 show one embodiment of using look-up tablesfor compound indexing to automatically process messages and metadata, itshould be understood that these tables are exemplary only. The tables,table names, and table content can take any form. Further, more or lesstables than those which have been described can be used. The tablesprovide scalability of a system to accommodate any number of users,including senders and recipients, without having to significantly alterthe system architecture or method of operation thereof.

FIG. 14 is a diagram of a communication system 1400 that can beconfigured for efficient communication using a mobile device 1402 inaccordance with one embodiment of the systems and methods describedherein. System 1400 can be similar to system 800 described in relationto FIG. 8. Thus, system 1400 can comprise a communication device 1402configured for mobile communication that can be a device similar todevice 210 also described in relation to FIG. 8. Specifically,communication device 1402 can have a transmit action input enabling auser of communication device 1402 to reply to data messages received bydevice 1400 using a simple transmit action. As described above the termtransmit action can refer to a variety of actions that result in someform of input and/or indication being received by communication device1402.

For example, with push-to-talk type phones, the transmit action can bethe depression and then release of the push-to-talk input mechanism.Thus, when the push-to-talk input mechanism is activated, the process ofreplying can be initiated, and when the push-to-talk mechanism isdeactivated, the process of replying, at least form the perspective ofcommunication device 1402, can be completed. The push-to-talk mechanismscan comprise a button, e.g., on the side of communication device 1402,that operates in a manner similar to a walkie-talkie, i.e., the userdepresses and holds the button to talk, and releases the button whenthey are done.

It should be apparent that the push-to-talk mechanism can comprise someother type of input mechanism such as a key on a keypad, an active inputon the display of communication device 1402, e.g., one that is activatedusing a stylus, or any other mechanism that is incorporated intocommunication device 1402. Moreover, the transmit action can actually beaccomplished using more than one input mechanism. For example, onebutton can be activated to cause communication device 1402 to begin theprocess of creating a voice reply, while another button can be used toindicate that the reply is complete. The second button can, for example,also cause the reply to be sent. Alternatively, a third button, or inputmechanism, can be used to cause communication device 1402 to send thereply.

In other embodiments, a single mechanism, such as those described above,can be used; however, multiple inputs generated using the singlemechanism can be required. For example, in one embodiment, apush-to-talk type mechanism can be used, but the process or replying canrequire the user to press, or activate, the push-to-talk mechanism onceto initiate the reply process, and then press, or activate, thepush-to-talk mechanism a second time to end the process, at least fromthe perspective of communication device 1402.

In other embodiments where, for example, communication device 1402 isconfigured for voice recognition, the transmit action can also comprisespeaking voice commands, such as “generate voice message” and “sendvoice message.”

In short, the term transmit action is intended to refer to a simpleaction, or set of actions, that can be easily performed to initiate andterminate the reply process from the perspective of communication device1400. Thus, by using the transmit action, the inefficiency of scrollingthrough menus, or contact lists, activating certain programs, and/orinterfacing with remote servers in order to generate and send a replycan be avoided.

Communication device 1400 can be interfaced with a message authority1406 through a network 1404. Message authority 1406 can, for example, bea server system, such as server system 208 described in relation to FIG.8. Thus, message authority 1406 can, depending on the embodiment,comprise a collector 220, data center 230, and communication server 240.In general, message authority 1406 can be configured to receive messagesand route them to the appropriate destination. Message authority 1406can also be configured to format the messages and to store the messagesand/or related data, e.g., metadata as required by a particularimplementation.

The term “authority” used to identify message authority 1406 is intendedto indicate that communication devices 1400 and client device 1410communicate with message authority 1406 through the communication andcomputing systems, hardware and software, associated with messageauthority 1406. Thus, depending on the embodiment, the term authoritycan refer to one or more servers, such as Internet or web servers, fileservers, and/or database servers, one or more routers, one or moredatabases, one or more software applications, one or more ApplicationProgram Interfaces (APIs), one or more communication networks, such asPANS or LANs, and one or more communication buses, or some combinationthereof. Further, the computing system associated with message authority1406 can include one or more computers or computer terminals. Moreover,custom communication interfaces, such as those associated with collector220, can also be included in message authority 1406.

Because communication device 1402 can be a mobile communication device,it can also comprise a wireless transceiver configured to enablecommunication device 1042 to send and receive wireless signals. Thus,network 1404 can comprise some form of wireless communication network,such as a wireless PAN, wireless LAN, wireless WAN, or a wirelessMetropolitan Area Network (MAN).

Message authority 1406 can also be configured to interface with a clientdevice 1410 via network 1408. Client device 1410 can be any deviceconfigured to communicate data messages, e.g., using an email client 242or web browser 244, over network 1408. Further, all or part of network1408 can comprise part of network 1404, or network 1408 can becompletely separate form network 1404 depending on the embodiment.

The ability for communication device 1402 to quickly and efficientlygenerate a message using a transmit action and send it to a messageauthority 1406, where it can be recorded and stored, is described indetail above. In addition, however, system 1400 can be configured toallow a user of client device 1410 to generate a data message, such anemail message, and send it to communication device 1402. Communicationdevice 1402 can be configured to receive the data message and to cause avoice reply to be generated and sent to client device 1410 by simplyperforming a transmit action using the transmit action mechanismassociated with communication device 1402 and speaking an appropriatereply. The spoken reply can be captured by communication device 1402 andused to generate the voice reply, which is sent to client device 1410.The voice reply can, for example, comprise a voice message that can beaccessed and played using client device 1410.

Accordingly, a user of communication device 1402 can quickly andefficiently communicate with a user of client device 1410 by simplyactivating the transmit mechanism and speaking into communication device1402. Further, the user of client device 1410 can access the voice replyat their convenience, which can make communication more efficient forthe user of client device 1410 as well.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 14, message authority 1406 can actas a go between to facilitate communication between client device 1410and communication device 1402 as briefly described above. FIG. 15 is aflow chart illustrating an example method for communicating betweencommunication device 1402 and client device 1410 using message authority1406 in accordance with one embodiment of the systems and methodsdescribed herein.

The process of FIG. 15 begins in step 1502 with the receipt by messageauthority 1406 of a data message generated by client device 1410. In oneembodiment, for example, client device 1410 generates and sends a textmessage such as an email. Thus, the data message received by messageauthority 1406 can include some textual content. The data messagegenerated by client device 1410 can be any type of data message. Thus,for example, the data message can be generated using an InstantMessaging (IM) application or the like. Similarly, the data message canbe an SMS or two-way text message. Moreover, the content of the datamessage can include other content instead of, or in addition to, textualcontent. For example, the data message can include, depending on theembodiment, audio content.

The data message received by message authority 1406, in step 1502, canalso include an identifier that can be used to determine a reply pathassociated with client device 1410. Thus, message authority 1406 can beconfigured to parse, in step 1504, the received data message in order todetermine the reply path associated with client device 1410. In certainembodiments, the data message can then be forwarded to communicationdevice 1402 with the reply path included. For example, if messageauthority 1406 is an email server, then the data ‘message, which wouldbe an email message in this case, can be forwarded to communicationdevice 1402. The email message received by communication device 1402will then include the email reply path as with any other email message.

In the example of FIG. 15, however, message authority 1406 can beconfigured to associate the reply path with an intermediate reply pathin step 1508. The data message can then be forwarded, in step 1510, tocommunication device 1402. But the forwarded message can include anidentifier that can be used to determine the intermediate reply pathinstead of the actual, or final reply path determined in step 1506.

For example, if message authority 1406 includes a collector as describedabove, then the intermediate reply path can specify which of thereceivers included in the collector is associated with the reply pathdetermined in step 1506. Thus, the data message received bycommunication device 1402 can include an identifier that can be used todetermine which of the receivers communication device 1402 shouldconnect with when replying to the data message. In alternativeembodiments, an electronic gateway or router configured to route thevoice reply to message authority 1405, which can in turn be configuredto direct the voice reply to the appropriate destination within messageauthority 1406 based on the identifier.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart illustrating an example process wherebycommunication device 1402 can receive and reply to a data message inaccordance with one example embodiment of the systems and methodsdescribed herein. First, in step 1602, communication device 1402 can beconfigured to receive the data message. In step 1604, the content of thedata message can be output to a user of communication device 1402. Thus,for example, if the data message comprises textual information, thenoutputting the content in step 1604 can comprise displaying the textualcontent on a display associated with communication device 1402.Communication device 1402 can also be configured to parse the datamessage, in step 1606, to determine the reply path associated with thedata message in step 1608, e.g., using an identifier included with thedata message.

Depending on the embodiment, the data message can be stored oncommunication device 1402 for later retrieval, e.g., retrieval at theconvenience of the user. In step 1610, the user can then initiate atransmit action using a transmit action mechanism associated withcommunication device 1402 and reply to the data message, or morespecifically the content of the data message, by speaking intocommunication device 1402. Thus, in step 1612, communication device 1402can be configured to receive the spoken reply.

In the embodiment of FIG. 16, the spoken reply is then transmitted bycommunication device 1402 in step 1616, in response to the terminationof the transmit action in step 1614. For example, in one implementation,the transmit action mechanism can be a push-to-talk type of inputmechanism. Thus, initiating the transmit action in step 1610, cancomprise pressing and holding the push-to-talk input mechanism andterminating the transmit action in step 1616 can comprise releasing thepush-to-talk input mechanism. Alternatively, initiating the transmitaction in step 1610 can comprise pressing and releasing the push-to-talkinput mechanism and terminating the transmit action in step 1614 cancomprise pressing and releasing the push-to-talk input mechanism asecond time.

As explained above, a variety of transmit action mechanisms andcombinations of actions can be used to effect the initiation andtermination of the transmit action as described in relation to FIG. 16;however, unlike conventional systems, there is no need to navigatethrough a variety of menus, or to activate a special program in order toreply to the data message received in step 1602. Moreover, the reply canbe made by simply speaking into communication device 1402. The spokenreply can then be formatted into a voice message that can be sent toclient device 1410 as a voice reply. This process is described in moredetail below.

The spoken reply can be transmitted, in step 1616, along the reply pathindicated by the identifier associated with the received data messageand determined in step 1608. As described below, the reply path can bethe actual or final reply path, or it can be an intermediate reply pathassociated, e.g., with message authority 1406.

In step 1618, communication device 1402 can receive a responseindicating whether the reply was successfully received. For example,some form of audible indication can be received and output by device1402. In one particular implementation, an audible indication comprisingthree tones, or “beeps”, is received if the reply is successful.

In the example of FIG. 16, communication device 1402 can simply transmitthe spoken reply in much the same way that a mobile device wouldnormally transmit messages spoken into the device. In such embodiments,message authority 1406 can be configured to receive the spoken reply andto generate from the spoken reply a voice reply that can be sent toclient device 1410. FIG. 17 is a flow chart illustrating an examplemethod for creating a voice reply using message authority 1406 inaccordance with one example embodiment of the system and methodsdescribed herein.

First, in step 1702, message authority 1406 receives the spoken reply,e.g., using a collector as described above. In step 1704, the spokenreply can be stored as a voice message. It will be understood that whena communication device, such as communication device 1402, transmitsvoice signals, the voice signals are often processed and formatted fortransmission via network 1404. For example, the voice signals are oftendigitized, compressed, and then packaged according to the protocolsassociated with network 1404. Thus, in order to store a spoken reply asa voice message in step 1704, it will be understood that messageauthority 1402 will often be required to process and format the receivedspoken reply. The processed spoken reply can then be stored as a voicemessage, e.g., the spoken reply can be saved as a digital audio file.

Message authority 1402 can be configured to then generate a datamessage, e.g., an email, in step 1706, and to attach the voice messagein step 1708 for transmission to client device 1410. In certainembodiments, the received spoken reply can be processed and formattedinto a voice message and attached to a data message without being storedin step 1704, although practically, the voice message needs to be storedat least temporarily during the process.

The combination of the data message and attached voice message isreferred to herein as a voice reply. The voice reply is transmitted, instep 1712, to client device 1410. First, however, the reply pathassociated with client device 1410 is looked-up and used to send thevoice reply to client deice 1410. For example, message authority 1402can store the reply path determined in step 1506. The reply path canthen be accessed in step 1710.

In one embodiment, compound indexing, as described above, can be used toaccess the reply path. For example, when the reply path is determined instep 1506, it can be associated with the intermediate reply path, e.g.,that identifies which receiver, or a receiver identifier, thatcommunication device 1402 should use to reply to the data message. Whenthe spoken reply is received in step 1702, it can comprise andidentifier that can be used to identify the user of communication device1402. The combination of the user identifier and intermediate reply pathcan then be used to access the reply path.

It should be noted that the user identifier can simply identifycommunication device 1402; however, in embodiments where more than oneuser can use communication device 1402 it is preferable that theidentifier associated with the spoken reply identify the actual user.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart illustrating an example method whereby clientdevice 1410 can receive a voice reply according to one embodiment of thesystems and methods described herein. First, in step 1802, client device1402 receives the voice reply. Thus, receiving the voice reply in step1802 can comprise receiving the data message, e.g., generated in step1706, and then accessing an attached voice message. The data messagecan, for example, comprise an email that client device 1410 receivesusing an email client, such as email client 242.

Alternatively, client device 1410 can comprise a web browser 244 andreceiving the voice reply in step 1802 can comprise accessing a web pagethrough which the voice message can be accessed. As explained inrelation to FIG. 12, the web page can include a media player 1204 torender the voice message in whichever media format the voice messageexists. Thus, in certain embodiments, a data message, such as an emailcan be used to provide access to the voice message. Attached to, orembedded in, the email can be a link, or similar mechanism, that allowsclient device to access a web page and play the voice message.

Again, as explained above, the voice message can be delivered to, andstored on client device 1410. Alternatively, the voice message can bemaintained on message authority 1406 and accessed using client device1410 when it is convenient for the user.

Accordingly, in step 1806, the voice message can be played via clientdevice 1410. For example, the voice message can be played using mediaplayer 1204.

It should be noted that the voice message does not necessarily need tobe attached to the data message sent to client device 1410. Rather, asjust described, a data message can be sent to client device 1410informing a user of client device 1410 that a voice message is pending.The user can then access the voice message directly, e.g., using a webbrowser 244.

In certain embodiments, client device 1410 can be configured to allowthe user to quickly generate a reply data message, in step 1808, andsend it back to communication device 1402 in step 1810. For example, theprocess for replying to the received voice reply can be similar to thatdescribed in relation to FIG. 12 for replying to a received audiomessage. Thus, a web page accessed using client device 1410 can includea text input window 1206, which can, for example, be displayedseparately from or combined with media player 1204. Text input window1206 can be configured to receive an input from an input device such asa keyboard, keypad, touchpad, or a voice input device used with avoice-to-text conversion program.

The data message received from message authority 1406, in step 1802 canalso comprise an identifier that can be used to determine a reply pathassociated with the data message. Depending on the embodiment, the replypath can be associated with communication device 1402, or for example,with message authority 1406. Thus, the reply data message can be sent,in step 1810, to message authority 1406, where it can be processed inthe same manner as the original data message (see FIG. 15) and thenrouted to communication device 1402. Communication device 1402 can thenreceive the reply data message and generate another voice reply.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an alternative embodiment of acommunication system 1900 configured in accordance with one embodimentof the systems and methods described herein. System 1900 illustrated inFIG. 19 includes a communication device 1902 as well as a client device1910. These devices can be similar to devices 1402 and 1410,respectively, as illustrated and described in relation to FIG. 14 above;however, in the example of FIG. 19, communication device 1902 can beconfigured to generate a voice reply and forward it to client device1910 without the aid of message authority 1406.

Accordingly, communication device 1902 can be configured to receive adata message from client device 1910, output, e.g., display, the contentof the data message, and receive a spoken reply initiated using atransmit action. Once the spoken reply is received, communication device1902 can be configured to format and store the spoken replay as a voicemessage. Communication device 1902 can be configured to then generate avoice reply that includes the voice message and forward it directly toclient device 1910 using a reply path determined from an identifierincluded in the received data message.

For example, in one embodiment, communication device 1902 can beconfigured to receive an email data message directly from client device1910. Thus, as with any other email message, the data message that isreceived by communication device 1902 should include the email replypath. It should also be understood, that client device 1910 will, insuch embodiments, be interfaced with an email server 1906 to facilitatethe sending and receiving of emails, as will communication device 1902.Accordingly, in the example of FIG. 19, communication device 1902 isillustrated as being interfaced with some form of message server, i.e.,an email server 1908, through a wireless network 1904.

In general, communication device 1902 and client device 1910 should beinterfaced with some form of message server to facilitate directcommunication, i.e., communication without the aid of message authority1406; however, such message servers, e.g., message servers 1908 and1906, can still be referred to as message authorities.

In order to generate a voice reply, communication device 1902 shouldhave the capability of receiving the spoken reply, in response to atransmit action, and saving it as a voice message. Communication device1902 should also have the capability to generate a data message, attachthe voice message, and transmit the data message and attached voicemessage to client device 1910, e.g., via message servers 1908 and 1906.

Similarly, client device 1910 can have the capability to receive thedata message and attached voice message and to play the attached voicemessage. In one embodiment for example, communication device 1902includes and email client 242 as does client device 1910. Additionally,communication device 1902 includes the processing and memorycapabilities to receive the spoken reply and save it as a voice message,e.g., a digital audio file. Communication device 1902 can be configuredto then generate the voice reply and send it to client device 1910.Client device 1910 can then have the ability to access the voice messageand play it for the user.

It should be noted that the data message received by communicationdevice 1402, or 1902, can comprise a request for specific information.For example, the data message can be originated by a dispatcherrequesting a user associated with communication device 1402 to make aspecific pickup or drop off, e.g., the user can be a taxi driver and thedata message can include a request that the taxi driver make a certainpickup. The voice reply sent to client device 1410, or 1910, in responseto the data message can then comprise a response to the specific requestcontained in the data message.

Accordingly, the systems and methods described herein can be used tofacilitate quick and efficient communication of essential information.The result can be increased efficiency and a reduction in costs createdby delays and/or miscommunication.

As described in relation to FIG. 19, the systems and methods describedherein do not necessarily need a custom or modified message authority;however, further aspects of the systems and methods can be enableddepending on the functionality included in communication device 1402,message authority 1406, and/or client device 1410. For example, messageauthority 1406 can be configured to allow a user of communication device1402 to access and maintain user profile information including anaddress book. In certain embodiments, the user can access messageauthority 1406 to update and maintain their user profile informationusing their communication devoice 1402. In other embodiments, however,the user can alternatively, or in addition, access message authority1406 using a client device 1410 to maintain their user profileinformation.

In one embodiment, for example, the user can access message authority1406 via a web browser interface to update their user profileinformation. In one particular implementation, the user accesses a webpage being hosted by message authority 1406 and enters a user nameand/or password to access their user profile. Once the user has accessedtheir user profile, the user can update their user profile information,such as their user name, password, contact information, etc. Further,the user can, depending on the embodiment update and maintain an addresslist as well.

For example, in one embodiment, a contact can be associated with anidentifier that can be used to identify a communication path associatedwith the contact. The contact and the associated identifier can then bestored in an address list associated with the user. When the user wantsto send a voice message to a particular contact as described above, theuser's communication device can use the identifier associated with theintended recipient.

In one specific implementation, for example, communication device 1402is a push-to-talk device that uses push-to-talk numbers to allowcommunication between push-to-talk devices. Thus, each contact can beassociated with a push-to-talk number. The user can then access messageauthority 1406 and enter contact names. Massage authority 1406 can beconfigured to then associate those contact names with a push-to-talknumber. The contact names, and associated push-to-talk numbers, can thenbe uploaded to communication device 1402, e.g., via network 1404, orthey can be manually input into communication device 1402, depending onthe implementation.

If the user of communication device 1402 then wants to send a voicemessage to one of the contacts, the user can simply select the contactpush-to-talk number, e.g., using a transmit action, and speak intocommunication device 1402 to generate a voce message.

In other embodiments, such as the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 19,where communication device 1902 is capable of sending and receiving datamessages, an address list does not necessarily need to be configured andloaded into communication device 1402 before it can be used to sendvoice messages. This is because an identifier, such as an email address,can be input directly into communication device 1402 when generating avoice message. Moreover, a received data message will generally includean identifier, such as the email reply path that can be used to identifythe reply path associated with the received data message. Thus, simplyby initiating a transmit action, a voice reply can be generated and sentto the sender of the data message without the need to configure anaddress list.

Even in these embodiments, however, it can be more convenient to createan address list that includes contact email addresses. Thus, messageauthority 1406 can be used to create such an address list, which canthen be uploaded to communication device 1402 via network 1404, or theaddress list can simply be entered into communication device 1402,depending on the embodiment.

In embodiments where an address list is maintained by message authority1406, a user of client device 1410 can initiate and send a data messageto a communication device 1402 by accessing message authority 1406,e.g., via a web browser 244, and inquiring as to what communicationdevice user's have added the user of client device 1410 to their addresslists. If more than one user has added the user of client device 1410 totheir address list, then a list of such users can be presented to theuser of client device 1410. The user of client device 1410 can then beallowed to select one of the users from the list and generate a datamessage to be sent to the communication device 1402 associated with theselected user.

Accordingly, a user does not need to know anything more than their ownaddress or identifier in order to send ad receive messages with one oremore communication devices 1402. In other words, the user of clientdevice 1410 does not need to know the address or identifier associatedwith a particular user or client device 1402. Not does a user of clientdevice 1410 need to know what type of device or communication programthe user, or client device 1402 is using. In fact, the user of clientdevice does not even need to know that a user of a communication device1402 has added them to their address list, at least not ahead of time.

In one implementation, for example, the user of client device 1410 canselect a user from the list of users presented by message authority1406. The user of client device 1410 can then generate a data messageintended for the user's communication device 1402. The user of clientdevice 1410 can then send the data message, which can include anidentifier that can be used to determine a reply path associated withclient device 1410. The data message can then be forwarded tocommunication device 1402.

The data message can, as described above, actually be sent to messageauthority 1406, which can be configured to associate an intermediatereply path with the received message. The user of communication device1402 can then send a voice reply using a transmit action as describedabove in response to receiving the data message.

FIG. 20 illustrated and example method for communicationdevice-to-communication device voice messaging in accordance with thesystems and methods described herein. First, in step 2002, a firstcommunication device can initiate a voice message as described above.Thus, step 2002 can comprise the first communication device receiving aspoken reply and converting it into a voice message that is attached toa data message and transmitted to a message authority 1406.Alternatively, step 2002 can comprise the first communication devicereceiving a spoken reply and transmitting the spoken reply to a messageauthority 1406. Message authority 1406 can be configured to then convertthe received spoken reply into a voice message.

In either case, the voice message can ultimately have an identifier thatcan be used to determine a communication device that is the intendedrecipient of the voice message. Message authority 1406 can be configuredto determine, in step 2004, that the voice message is intended foranother communication device and to store the voice message in step2006. In step 2008, message authority 1496 can be configured to thensend the intended communication device a data message informing the userof the intended communication device of the pending voice message.

In step 2010, the intended communication device can connect with messageauthority 1406 and request the voice message. In response, messageauthority can be configured to make the voice message available in step2012.

Several things should be noted about the process of FIG. 20. First, theuser can be configured to connect with message authority 1406 using theintended communication device and request the pending voice messageusing a transmit action as described above. Thus, the data message sentin step 2008 can include an identifier that can be used to identify areply path that the intended communication device can use to retrievethe pending voice message. Second, making the voice message available instep 2012 can comprise message authority 1406 sending the voice messageas voice signals through network 1404 to the intended communicationdevice. Alternatively, the voice message can be sent to the intendedcommunication device, e.g., attached to a data message, where it can bestored and played by the intended communication device.

Thus, including a message authority that is configured for greatercapability can increase the functionality of the systems and methodsdescribed herein, e.g., by allowing a user of a client device toinitiate communication by sending a data message to a communicationdevice, such as a communication device 1402, or by enabling voicemessaging between communication devices, such as communication devices1402.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for directlypopulating a voice mail account using a transmit action in accordancewith one embodiment of the systems and methods described herein. First,in step 2102, a contact's voice mail account can be associated with anidentifier that can be used by a user of, e.g., a communication device1402 to generate a voice mail message for the contact using a simpletransmit action. For example, recall in the example implementationabove, wherein a contact's email address is associated with apush-to-talk number. Thus, in step 2302, a communicating path thatidentifies a contact's voice mail account can be associated with apush-to-talk number instead, or in addition to, associating thecontact's email address with a push-to-talk number.

If the user of a communication device 1402 wants to leave a voice mailmessage for the contact, they can simply select the number associatedwith the voice mail account in step 2104, initiate a simple transmitaction in step 2106, and leave a voice mail message in step 2108. Withconventional push-to-talk systems, a user can attempt to initiate apush-to-talk communication; however, if the intended recipient is notavailable, then the attempt fails. Thus, the process of FIG. 21 providesa means whereby push-to-talk systems, for example, can be used to leavevoice mail messages. Further, the inefficiency of conventional voicemail can be avoided. In other words, there is no need to attempt aconnection, wait to be transferred to voice mail, and then listen to, ornavigate through, a menu system in order to leave a voice mail message.

In embodiments, where for example a message authority 1406 is used tohost the voice mail account. The voice mail message can even be left asa voice message. Thus, the intended recipient can be sent a data messageindicating that a pending message is waiting in step 2110. The userrecipient can then retrieve the pending voice message using a singletransmit action as described in relation to FIG. 20.

In one embodiment, a user of a communication device 1402 can attempt tofirst communicate directly with a user of a second communication device,but receives an indication that the user is not available. FIG. 22 is aflow chart illustrating such an embodiment in accordance with thesystems and methods described herein. As with the process illustrated inFIG. 21, voice mail account reply path associated with a user of acommunication device 1402 has been associated with an identifier thatcan be use to identify the reply path. First, in step 2202, a userattempts to connect with another communication device 1402 using, forexample, a transmit action. Thus, the user can select an identifierassociated with the other communication device 1402, or a user thereof.Initiating the transmit action can then cause the user's communicationdevice to attempt to connect with the other communication device 1402 instep 2202.

In step 2204, the user can receive, via his communication device, anindication that the other user is not available. Additionally, messageauthority 1406 can be notified, in step 2206, that the connectionbetween the two communication devices was not completed. Messageauthority 1406 can receive, as part of the notification, an identifierthat can be used to identify the communication device attempting theconnection an identifier that can be use to identify the communicationdevice with which a connection is being attempted.

In step 2208, message authority 1406 can be configured to determine areply path associated with a voice mail account that is associated withthe user of the second communication device. In step 2210, messageauthority can be configured to then initiate a communication sessionwith the communication device attempting the connection and send a voicesignal to the first communication that asks the user if the user wouldlike to leave a voice mail message for the other user. Thus, the user ofthe first communication device is now engaged in a communicationsession, e.g., a push-to-talk communication session, with messageauthority 1406; however, the identifier included with the voice signalcan be the identifier associated with the voice mail account.

Thus, if the user initiates a response to the voice signal, e.g., usinga transmit action, in step 2212, the user can be automatically connectedwith the voice mail account and can leave a voice mail message. As withthe process of FIG. 21, if the voice mail message is saved as a voicemessage, then message authority can be configured to send a data messageto the communication device associated with the voice mail accountindicating that there is a pending voice message. The data massage caninclude an identifier that can enable the user of the communicationdevice to simply initiate a transmit action to receive the voicemessage.

While certain embodiments of the inventions have been described above,it will be understood that the embodiments described are by way ofexample only. Accordingly, the inventions should not be limited based onthe described embodiments. Rather, the scope of the inventions describedherein should only be limited in light of the claims that follow whentaken in conjunction with the above description and accompanyingdrawings.

1. A method of communicating, comprising: a message authority receivinga data message from a client device, the client device being associatedwith a reply path; associating a reply path identifier associated withthe reply path with an identifier associated with a mobile device andwith one of a plurality of intermediate addresses associated with themessage authority; including or appending the intermediate address tothe data message, and forwarding the data message to the mobile device;receiving via one of a plurality of ports or receivers associated withthe intermediate addresses a reply from the mobile device to the clientdevice that includes the identifier that identifies the mobile device ;and determining the reply path identifier associated with the clientdevice by reference to a combination of the mobile device identifier andthe intermediate address.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the reply isa spoken reply, and the method further comprising the message authorityconverting the spoken reply into a voice message.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein the reply is a voice message.
 4. The method of claim 2,further comprising the message authority generating a data messageindicating that a voice message is pending and sending the data messageto the client device via the reply path.
 5. The method of claim 2,further comprising storing the voice message, attaching the stored voicemessage or a copy of the stored voice message to a data message, andsending the data message to the client device.
 6. The method of claim 3,further comprising the message authority generating a data messageindicating that a voice message is pending and sending the data messageto the client device via the reply path.
 7. The method of claim 3,further comprising storing the voice message, attaching the stored voicemessage or a copy of the stored voice message to a data message, andsending the data message to the client device.
 8. The method of claim 1,further comprising generating and transmitting a data message to theclient device via the reply path, and wherein generating andtransmitting the data message comprises using an email client togenerate and transmit the data message.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein the data message is an email message.
 10. The method of claim 1,further comprising generating and transmitting a data message to theclient device via the reply path, and wherein generating andtransmitting the data message comprises using a web browser interfacingwith a web-based application to generate and transmit the data message.11. The method of claim 10, wherein the data message is an SMS message.12. A message authority, comprising: a first receiver configured toreceive a data message from a client device, the client device beingassociated with a reply path; a transmitter or output port configured totransmit data messages to one or more mobile devices; a plurality ofreceivers or ports associated with a plurality of intermediate addressassociated with the message authority and configured to receive repliesto data massages from the one or more mobile devices; and a processorconfigured to associate a reply path identifier associated with thereply path with an identifier associated with a mobile device and withone of the plurality of intermediate addresses, include or append theintermediate address to the data message, forward the data massage tothe transmitter or output port, and, when a reply is received via one ofthe plurality of receivers or ports, determine a reply path identifierassociated with a client device by reference to a combination of themobile device identifier and the intermediate address.
 13. The messageauthority of claim 12, wherein the reply is a spoken reply, and whereinthe processor is further configured to convert the spoken reply into avoice message.
 14. The message authority of claim 12, wherein the replyis a voice message.
 15. The message authority of claim 13, wherein theprocessor is further configured to generate a data message indicatingthat a voice message is pending and sending the data message to theclient device via the reply path.
 16. The message authority of claim 13,further comprising data storage, and wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to store the voice message, attach the stored voice messageor a copy of the stored voice message to a data message, and send thedata message to the client device.
 17. The message authority of claim14, wherein the processor is configured to generate a data messageindicating that a voice message is pending and send the data message tothe client device via the reply path.
 18. The message authority of claim14, further comprising data storage, and wherein the processor isfurther configured to store the voice message, attach the stored voicemessage or a copy of the stored voice message to a data message, andsend the data message to the client device.
 19. The message authority ofclaim 12, further comprising and email client and wherein the processoris further configured to generate and transmitting a data message to theclient device via the reply path, and wherein generating and transmitthe data message using the email client.
 20. The message authority ofclaim 19, wherein the data message is an email message.
 21. The messageauthority of claim 12, further comprising a web browser interfaced witha web-based application, and wherein the processor is further configuredto generate and transmit a data message to the client device via thereply path using the web browser interfaced with a web-basedapplication.
 22. The message authority of claim 21, wherein the datamessage is an SMS message.